1. Field
The following invention disclosure is generally concerned with photography equipment and specifically concerned with an electronic photographer's guidance system which provides set-up information in accordance with various real-time stimuli.
2. Prior Art
Computer technologies have enabled remarkable changes to many of our everyday activities. From how we communicate with our families, to how we plan a journey—computers today greatly influence the manner in which we performed many activities. Even something so artful and beautiful as photography can be greatly improved and enhanced by way of computer supporting systems. With the advent of digital cameras, and most particularly ‘high-end’ or ‘prosumer’ digital single lens reflex DSLRs type cameras, great opportunity arose for photographers to benefit from advances in general computer technologies.
In one illustrated example, a digital camera coupled with a GPS position determining system includes a computer to provide digital data files of photographs with names which are particular to the locations from which the photograph is made. Such systems are first taught in exhaustive detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,661 by inventor Cazier of Colorado. In a peculiar shortcoming of these systems, image files are given names associated with the places from which the image was captured rather than the names associated with the location of the image subject matter. For example, a photographer on the bayfront shore in Richmond Calif. may make photographs of San Francisco, Oakland, Alcatraz, Sausalito, Madera and San Rafael. However, all files would be named with a prefix “Richmond” in accordance with the teachings of Cazier. This, despite the fact that none of the images are actually of Richmond. While Cazier's teachings are probably useful for tourists visiting Paris, these systems are limited and their applications quite narrow in scope.
Another important illustrative attempt to couple advanced computing systems and location based informatics can be discovered in U.S. Pat. No. 7,477,295. In this invention by Tanaka of Japan, a GPS module determines position of the camera unit and the information is transmitted from the GPS to the camera via radio I/F. after a photograph is made, it is stored as an electronic file on a local memory card. In addition to the image, a thumbnail (highly abbreviated) image is also stored. Further, a computer calculates a camera attitude and range (distance between photograph site and the object being photographed) according to position coordinate data. Measurement data, i.e. position coordinate data, object position coordinate data, camera attitude, distance between photographer site and the object, all may be attached to the digital file which represents the image. Thus, data measured during the exposure may be appended to the digital files of images.
In yet another important invention of the art entitled “Electronic guide system, contents server for electronic guide system, portable electronic guide device, and information processing method for electronic guide system” an the invention presented by inventors Kobuya et al, of Sony Corp. was granted Oct. 31, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,130,742. An electronic tour guide is affected for tourists where a server provides guide information including places of interest as well as map data. The server additionally provides content in agreement with a user's predefined specifications. Custom tour guide content is stored in an electronic guide apparatus. Upon arrival at a destination, for example at an airport counter, electronic guide apparatus with custom information preloaded thereon may be collected and used by the user to take to a selected destination for further consumption of custom content.
While systems and inventions of the art are designed to achieve particular goals and objectives, some of those being no less than remarkable, inventions of the art have limitations which prevent uses in new ways now possible. Inventions of the art are not used and cannot be used to realize the advantages and objectives of the invention taught herefollowing.